Billy Moore is among the candidates to have a portion of the library named in her memory. Photo Courtesy Lee Jordan

The initial push to name the remodeled and relocated Chugiak-Eagle River Library after its founders Billy Moore and Polly Kallenberg is no longer being considered. In its place, a new plan - to name portions of the facility after the two founders and prominent volunteer Kathryn Cotton - is gaining momentum.

Diehard library advocates Abbe Dunning-Newbury and Lee Jordan launched the drive to honor the library founders when plans were formalized in 2008 that the library would be moved to the more spacious Eagle River Town Center.

Now as part of the official Chugiak-Eagle River Library Naming Committee Dunning-Newbury and Jordan are seeking input for the best way to memorialize the three women. They also are open to suggestion for other possible candidates to be considered for the honor.

"With the opening of the new location, we think this is the perfect time to recognize those who made the library a reality in the community," Jordan said. "We decided not to push for renaming the library in part because the staff of the library said they wanted to keep the name originally selected by Kallenberg and Moore."

Dunning-Newbury praised the accomplishments of both Kallenberg and Moore.

"They were instrumental in establishing the libraries locally," she said. "Both of these ladies made a local library a reality and have since passed on to that great reading room in the sky, but their legacy can live on with the library they created."

Jordan, chairman of the naming committee, spoke equally as fondly about Cotton.

"She spent nearly 20 years working as a volunteer," he said. "Initially we were thinking of limiting our push to Billy (Moore) and Polly (Kallenberg), but when someone suggested Kathryn and our focus changed from naming the library to naming part of the library after the women it made sense to include her."

Moore initially got involved in making books available to locals when Eagle River Elementary School opened in 1960.

According to Marjorie Cochrane's history of the area "Between Two Rivers," Moore became incensed when the school's PTA decided its first goal would be to install an electric scoreboard, rather than buy books for a library.

"I really shocked a lot of well-meaning people when I told them their priorities were misplaced," Moore said in Cochrane's book. "There was no library. There was not even a dictionary in the school. In addition, they voted for an electric scoreboard. I was very vocal."

Moore hosted weekly cookie sales and took her drive to establish a library to elected officials.

Kallenberg, who had been involved in a small library project that the Chugiak Ladies Club established, also joined the push for a local library.

Together with Cotton they worked with Moore to persuade the person in charge of the state's rural library system to locate public libraries at Chugiak and Eagle River elementary schools.

Through their efforts, the local elementary schools became the first schools in the state to have in-house libraries.

With this success on their side, Kallenberg and Moore began a crusade to bring public libraries to communities.

Kallenberg opened the Chugiak Library in April 1965. She issued a library card to 19 people on the first day it was opened to the public and 56 books were checked out.

Moore followed a week later, opening the Eagle River library, with 46 people getting library cards to check out 107 books.

The two libraries combined in 1968.

Cotten, Kallenberg and Moore worked side-by-side at the Chugiak-Eagle River Library for more than 20 years.

In addition to seeking additional candidates from the community, the committee is hoping people will offer suggestions for which parts of the library could be named after the three women.

"We're thinking that the children's section could be named in memory of Billy Moore, because she always said the library was for the children," Jordan said. "The Alaska section should be named for Polly Kallenberg, because she loved every part of the state, and a special volunteer program could be named for Kathryn Cotton, because of her dedication to the library.

"Those are only ideas," he continued. "The purpose of the meeting is to hear from the community as to their feelings."

The naming committee will review the proposed naming and if three of the four members agree with the name change a letter will be sent to Mayor Sullivan and Anchorage Assembly chairwoman Debbie Ossiander, informing them of their actions.

The Assembly has final say in the matter and must approve a resolution to make any name change official.

The members of the committee believe the naming of portions of the facility will become a reality.

"I can't think of a better match than naming parts of the library after the women who started it all," Duning-Newbury said.

Reach the reporter at darrell.breese.@alaskastar.com.